Introduction

Ease of Use

The 6.2-inch screen of the S9 Plus makes it one of the larger smartphones on the market, but thanks to its bezel-less design (whereby the screen goes all the way to the edges of the device), it manages to stay just on the right side of ridiculousness. Still, you’ll probably find that you want to use two hands when typing out emails, or perhaps even to steady the phone when taking a photograph - the smaller, standard S9 may let you get away with holding the phone in just one hand more often.

Unlike phones such as the Huawei P20 Pro or the iPhone X, there’s no notch at the top of the Samsung S9 Plus, so the display stops just short of the top of the screen. Similarly, it doesn’t go all the way to the bottom of the screen either - unlike with some phones the fingerprint scanner is not at the bottom of the screen, but rather on the back of the phone. You can also set up face unlock, or use a pattern or a pin to unlock the phone if you prefer.

Front of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

The native camera app can be accessed quickly by swiping up from the bottom right hand corner of the home screen (or the top right if you’re holding the phone in landscape orientation). As we’ve seen in previous Samsung phones, the native camera app is pretty well specced, giving you lots of shooting choices and modes to work with.

All of the main modes can be seen along the top of the S9 Plus camera app screen. You’ve got Food, Panorama, Pro, Live Focus, Auto, Super Slow-Mo, AR Emoji and Hyperlapse. You can add or remove these modes from the main screen in the settings menu, if you find you never use a particular shooting mode. To move between these different modes, you can tap the text at the top of the screen, or alternatively, you can use a swiping motion on the screen to choose between them. This is very quick, but it’s also rather sensitive, leading to accidental mode changes when you may not want them. Similarly, you can swipe up and down on the screen to change between the front facing and the rear facing camera - this is also pretty sensitive and can therefore change when you may not want it to.

Rear of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

By default, the camera app launches in “Auto” mode, which is what you’ll probably want to use for the majority of your shots. As you’d expect, in this mode you don’t have a huge amount of options which you can change from the main screen. As standard, the camera shoots with the wide-angle lens, but you can tap the 2x icon if you want to access the telephoto camera instead. To activate the camera’s digital zoom, you can use a pinching motion on the screen - up to 10x is available. Along the bottom of the screen when in this mode, you’ll see that you can switch a flash on/off, as well as access some digital filters.

To actually take a photo, there’s a virtual shutter release button  seen at the bottom of the screen. Alternatively, you can use either the volume up or the volume down button to take a shot, if you prefer.

Front of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Whereas the standard S9 has a mode called “selective focus”, the S9 Plus has a similar mode which is called “Live Focus”. The reason for the disparity is that the S9 Plus is using two lenses to create a shallow depth of field effect, whereas the standard S9 does it all with software. When using the Live Focus effect you’ll need to hold the camera reasonably far from the subject - but it will let you know if it’s ready to shoot. If you get too close to the subject - or too far away - the screen will instruct you on what you need to do to make Live Focus work. Once ready, tap the shutter button to take your photo - occasionally you may find that you need to tap the subject of the photo as well to get it refocus, if the camera has accidentally selected the wrong subject (which is reasonably rare).

As you might expect, Pro mode gives you the opportunity to change a number of different parameters. You can adjust ISO, shutter speed, AF mode, metering, picture style and white balance. You can leave any or all of these on automatic, or adjust each of them accordingly as you choose. Unlike most other smartphone cameras, you’ve also got the opportunity to adjust the aperture - with either f/1.5 or f/2.4 available - use the wider (f/1.5) aperture in darker conditions to let more light in, or f/2.4 when you’re shooting landscapes or similar to let less light in. Unfortunately, there’s no option to shoot in raw format though. If you want to use the telephoto lens when in pro mode, you can’t access that directly through the pro mode - which is a bit odd. If you tap 2x in Auto mode, and then switch back to Pro mode, you’ll find that you’re shooting at telephoto, though - a bit of an odd workaround.

Front of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

In order to record a video, you need to tap the video record button at the bottom of the screen - which appears in all the modes. You’ll find that if you tap it, it starts recording immediately, with no chance to compose your image first (it uses a different aspect ratio to that shown on the screen). If you want to compose first, if you hold down the record button, you’ll be able to frame the shot, then release the button to start recording. If you’re in the Super Slow-Mo Mode, there’s only a video record button available.

When using the selfie camera, you’ve got a few options to choose from here. There’s the standard selfie mode, which launches by default and takes a standard photo. To the left is “Selfie Focus”, which creates a shallow depth of field effect for your images, and there’s also AR Emoji, which you can use to create emojis from your face, and Wide Selfie, which is ideal for either group selfies, or for getting a lot of background in your selfies.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

Colours directly from the S9 Plus in good light are nice and vibrant, without going too over the top. Other phones in this category, such as the iPhone X and the Huawei P20 Pro can tend to oversaturate certain colours such as blues, greens and reds, whereas the S9 Plus is a little more natural - which approach you prefer is down to personal taste, of course.

Detail in good light is very good, and while you might be able to see a little oversharpening taking place if you examine images very closely, this is something which most smartphones tend to do, and the results when looking on a phone screen, or printed up to A4, are still generally very good.

Having the variable aperture available means that you can shoot in low light with a wide aperture, keeping the ISO down. That means that low light images are very good (especially for a smartphone with a small sensor). We’d say that the Huawei P20 Pro has the edge - especially with its fantastic “Night Mode”, but the S9 Plus also puts in a very solid performance.

Live Focus - the mode which creates a shallow depth of field - puts in good performance, and is better than the standard S9’s “Selective Focus” mode. However, you should be mindful to avoid subjects which have a complicated background - as you might find that odd artefacts around the subject are more obvious than you’d like.

Generally speaking, the automatic metering setting does a good job to keep exposures balanced, while automatic white balance generally gets colours on the right side of accurate under artificial lighting.

Noise

ISO 50 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

Optical Zoom - 1x

Hybrid Zoom - 2x

Flash

Flash Off - Wide-angle

Flash On - Wide-angle

Flash Off - Telephoto

Flash On - Telephoto

Flash Off

Flash On

Selfie - Flash On

Macro

Night

Live Focus

Panorama

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample Movies & Video

Product Images

Conclusion

The Samsung S9 Plus is one of the best smartphones currently on the market for those whose primary concern is the quality of the camera. Its main competitors are the iPhone X and the Huawei P20 Pro - all three cameras have (at least) two lenses. The S9 Plus just edges past the iPhone X for image quality, but the Huawei P20 Pro is the best overall. You might prefer to go for the Samsung model if you prefer Samsung’s user interface, or simply the look and feel of the device. 

With lots of control on offer from the native camera app, you’ll also feel more at home with the S9 Plus than the iPhone X if you’re an enthusiast who likes to make your own settings changes. It’s a shame that raw format shooting isn’t available here, to really round off the settings completely. 

Using the native camera app is very easy - you do have to watch out for accidentally sweeping through modes when you don’t want to though, so we can’t help but feel that this function is a little over-sensitive. 

Image quality is very good, with vibrant yet realistic colours, and plenty of detail. Shallow depth of field effects can be produced reasonably well, but you just need to be mindful of complicated backgrounds which can throw up unusual patterns or shapes in the background - keep it as simple as possible for best effect. 

Buying the Samsung S9 Plus outright will set you back around £870. That makes it cheaper than the iPhone X (at least £1000), but a little more expensive than the Huawei P20 Pro (around £800). Arguably, the ability to add memory via a Micro SD card gives it a little extra value that the P20 Pro doesn’t offer, though. 

Consumers are left with a lot of choice when it comes to well-performing cameras on their smartphones at the moment. The Samsung S9 Plus is a fantastic example of just how good smartphones are at the moment - it’ll be interesting to see how Apple responds to it in the coming months. 

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	4.5
Value for money	4

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus from around the web.

Specifications

News

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones feature Super Slow-mo video, best-in-class low light camera and AR Emojis. Samsung’s Dual Aperture (F1.5 / F2.4) automatically lets in more light when it’s dark and less light when it’s too bright, taking photos that are crisp and clear. Super Slow-mo records dynamic, slow-motion video that captures 960 frames per second. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available starting in March 16, 2018 in select markets and will be offered in Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Coral Blue and a new hue, Lilac Purple.

Samsung Electronics Press Release

Built for the Way We Communicate Today: Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ fuel new discoveries with Super Slow-mo video, best-in-class low light camera and AR Emoji for a more personalized way to express yourself.

Samsung Electronics introduces the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, the smartphones that reimagine the way people communicate, share and experience the world. Made for an age in which consumers increasingly communicate and express themselves more with images, videos and emojis, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ drive innovation with Samsung’s advanced camera. Redesigned with a new Dual Aperture lens that powers an innovative low light camera, Super Slow-mo video capabilities and personalized AR Emoji, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ ensure users do not miss a moment and make their everyday epic.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ deliver an enhanced entertainment experience with powerful stereo speakers tuned by AKG, immersive audio with Dolby Atmos® and a refined edge-to-edge Infinity Display ¹– a key staple in Samsung’s design heritage. In addition, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will come with the new SmartThings app, which unites Samsung’s existing IoT services into one single, smart experience.

“The way we use our smartphones has changed as communication and self-expression has evolved,” said DJ Koh, president and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “With the Galaxy S9 and S9+, we have reimagined the smartphone camera. Not only do the Galaxy S9 and S9+ enable consumers to shoot great photos and videos anywhere, it’s a smartphone that’s designed to help them connect to others and express themselves in a way that’s unique and personal to them.”

Camera Reimagined

Today’s cameras are for more than taking pictures – they’re for connecting and communicating. Consumers want a smartphone camera with state-of-the-art technology, so they can express themselves with high-quality images and tools to tell their own, unique story. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ cameras are built with these consumers in mind, with a Super Speed Dual Pixel sensor with dedicated processing power and memory to take amazing shots with high photo quality. The Galaxy S9 and S9+’s camera features include:

• Super Slow-mo: Make every day moments epic with dynamic, slow-motion video that captures 960 frames per second. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ also offer automatic Motion Detection, an intelligent feature that detects movement in the frame and automatically begins to record – all users have to do is set up the shot. After capturing the Super Slow-mo video, users can select background music from 35 different options or add a tune from their favorite playlist. Users can also easily create, edit and share GIF files with a simple tap in three playful styles of looping to watch the action over and over again.
• Low Light Camera: Good lighting is the secret to any great photo. But often, photos are taken in less-than-ideal lighting conditions and most smartphone cameras have a fixed aperture that can’t adjust to low or bright lighting environments resulting in grainy or washed out pictures. Similar to the way the iris of a human eye expands and contracts, Samsung’s Dual Aperture²(F1.5 / F2.4) automatically lets in more light when it’s dark and less light when it’s too bright, taking photos that are crisp and clear.
• AR Emoji: Samsung lets users create an emoji that looks, sounds and acts like them. AR Emoji uses a data-based machine learning algorithm, which analyzes a 2D image of the user and maps out more than 100 facial features to create a 3D model that reflects and imitates expressions, like winks and nods, for true personalization. AR Emoji shares users’ real-life emotions not only in video but also with a range of stickers and uses a standard AGIF file format so users can share their emojis across most third-party messaging platforms.
• Bixby: Samsung’s intelligence platform, integrated into the camera, uses augmented reality and deep learning technologies to provide helpful information about a user’s surroundings.³ With real-time object detection and recognition, Bixby instantly generates information directly on top of the image that the camera is pointing at. Users can translate foreign languages and currency in real time with Live Translation, learn about their surroundings, purchase products seen in the real world and track calories throughout the day.⁴

Entertainment Reimagined

Smartphones are often our go-to choice for entertainment, which is why Samsung created a device that offers premium sound experiences with stereo speakers tuned by AKG. Whether users are watching their favorite movie or streaming their favorite artist’s latest album, sounds are clear, crisp and rich in quality. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ also support Dolby Atmos, giving the effect of 360-degree sound.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ audio experience is complemented by Samsung’s revolutionary Infinity Display. First introduced on the Galaxy S8, the bold, bright Super AMOLED Infinity Display blends right into the phone with virtually no distracting notches. With adaptive contrast enhancement, users can use their device even in direct sunlight.

A Device that Fits with the Connected Lifestyle

As the first smartphone to support the new SmartThings app, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are the central hub to manage every facet of the connected lifestyle at home, at the office or on the go. The SmartThings app will be introduced with the Galaxy S9 and S9+ and will connect to other Samsung and non-Samsung devices.

For those constantly on the move, the next-generation Samsung DeX empowers a mobile lifestyle by bringing a large, full-screen experience to the mobile handset. With the DeX Pad, a new docking system, users can easily connect the Galaxy S9 and S9+ to a larger monitor, keyboard and mouse to expand the mobile experience with enhanced document editing or even full-screen gaming.⁵Users can also transform the Galaxy S9 and S9+ into a Touch Pad with the DeX Pad.⁶

The Best Comes Standard with the Galaxy Foundation

Samsung sets the gold standard for smartphones with IP68⁷ water and dust resistance and wireless charging and goes a step beyond with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. The devices now support expandable memory of up to 400GB with a Micro SD Card and are equipped with the latest premium application processors offering powerful performance and sophisticated image processing.

In addition, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ give users the peace of mind knowing that their phone is protected by Knox 3.1, Samsung’s latest defense-grade security platform. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ support three different biometric authentication options – iris, fingerprint, and facial recognition – so users can choose the way they want to protect their device and applications. The devices feature Intelligent Scan, a new verification that intelligently uses the collective strength of iris scanning and facial recognition technology to quickly and conveniently unlock a user’s phone in various situations. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ also introduce Dedicated Fingerprint, giving users the option to use a different fingerprint to access Secure Folder than the one used to unlock the phone.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ take health to the next level with an improved optical sensor built directly into the device, providing richer, more accurate information on users’ health status. This sensor allows the Galaxy S9 and S9+ to keep track of users’ Heart Load Factor, a new measurement of the real-time demand placed on the heart.⁸

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be available starting in March 16, 2018 in select markets and will be offered in Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, Coral Blue and a new hue, Lilac Purple.

¹Infinity Display: a near bezel-less, full-frontal glass, edge-to-edge screen.

²The Dual Aperture supports F1.5 mode and F2.4 mode. Dual Aperture is installed on the rear camera (Galaxy S9) and rear wide-camera (Galaxy S9+).

³ Bixby service availability and features may vary by country or carrier. Voice Command recognizes English (U.S.), Mandarin Chinese and Korean. Not all accents, dialects and expressions are recognized. Voice command works with a select, growing list of Samsung and third-party apps. See “Apps with Voice” in Bixby for a list of compatible apps.

⁴ May differ by country and carrier.

⁵Available on select Samsung smartphones running Android 8.0+. Using the original HDMI cable and charger included with DeX Pad is recommended. DeX Pad, keyboard, mouse, monitor sold separately.

⁶DeX Pad comes with HDMI cable, wall charger and data cable. Accessories including monitor sold separately. Use of original HDMI cable and charger included with DeX Pad is recommended. Dex Pad also supports Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note8.

⁷Based on test conditions for submersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Rinse residue/dry if wet.

⁸Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only.

⁹ Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners.

¹⁰ Default resolution is Full HD+ and can be changed to Quad HD+ (WQHD+) in Settings.

¹¹ May differ by country and carrier.

¹² May differ by country and carrier. User memory is less than the total memory due to storage of the operating system and software used to operate the device features. Actual user memory will vary depending on the operator and may change after software upgrades are performed.

¹³ Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited.

Preview Images

Ahead of our full review, here are some sample images taken with the new Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus smartphone.

A gallery of sample images taken with the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus Sample Images

Sample Movie & Video

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